How Do Overtime Laws Affect Your Business?

Sometimes it is necessary to have our employees work overtime. Working overtime simply means working more hours than normal in a standard workday or work week. Every employer needs to know the overtime laws in Arizona and understand how they apply to their company. Failure to adhere to overtime laws could result in legal consequences. If you are unsure about how the laws pertain to your company, consult with an experienced commercial law attorney.

Hourly Employees

Generally, hourly employees must be paid an overtime rate anytime their total hours for the week exceeds 40. A work week is considered to be any seven consecutive work days. Just as there is a legal minimum wage in Arizona, there is also a standard legal minimum overtime wage. The overtime wage minimum is one and a half times the employee’s regular wages. For example, if minimum wage is $8.50 an hour, the current rate as of 2016, the overtime rate is $12.80 an hour.

No Daily Overtime

While the law requires companies to pay employees overtime when they work more than 40 hours in a week, it does not require that extra wages be paid for daily overtime. This means that when an employee works more than 8 hours in a single day, they will still receive their standard hourly pay scale. Of course, companies are free to pay employees daily overtime wages if they choose to do so, but they are not required to do so by law.

Fair Labor Standards Act

The Fair Labor Standards Act, FLSA, is legislation that defines overtime laws. Workers in certain types of industries are required to be paid overtime. For example, nurses, first responders, and those who work in manual labor are all protected by overtime laws. There are many categories of protected workers so companies should check with their attorney to make sure that they are following the law.

Overtime Exemptions

Many employees are protected by overtime exemption laws as part of the FLSA. Those protected workers are mostly blue-collar workers. People working in these jobs are most often expected to work long hours for relatively low pay or minimum wage. Another special category includes those working in professional or management jobs who earn more than $455 a week. These workers are not required to be paid overtime. The rules regarding overtime pay should be reviewed to ensure that your company is following the law.

This blog should be used for informational purposes only. It does not create an attorney-client relationship with any reader and should not be construed as legal advice. If you need legal advice regarding Overtime Laws, or any other commercial litigation matters, please feel free to contact Joel E. Sannes at 480.461.5307, or log on to udallshumway.com,  or contact an attorney in your area. Udall Shumway PLC is located in Mesa, Arizona and is a full service law firm. We assist Individuals, families, businesses, schools and municipalities in Mesa and the Phoenix/East Valley.